Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: Oliver Takely is a passionate MM romance author who writes authentic stories featuring complex, flawed, and loveable men. Whether it’s set in the dark stress of London, Soho, or a sweet smalltown, he guarantees a happily-ever-after for all his guys, even if the journey is a tough one.
With years of writing experience and a creative day job, Oliver is also an avid reader of MM romance, consuming hundreds of books each year himself. His favourite tropes are age gap and enemies to lovers. He enjoys everything from dark mafia to swoony holiday smalltown, and everything in between.
Originally from the north of England, Oliver now resides in the Essex with his husband and their beloved fur baby, who is treated like a princess, living their own happily-ever-after straight out of a romance novel. When not writing or reading, he enjoys holidays and indulging in lots of good food, which usually involves something with chocolate.
Website – https://olivertakely.com/
Newsletter and free book – https://olivertakely.com/knights-corner
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/olivertakelyauthor/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563482888445
Thanks so much, Oliver, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: Do you use a pseudonym? If so, why? If not, why not?
Oliver Takely: I have three author pen names to keep all my genres separate. I published my first book in 2013, and made a lot of mistakes. I did a bit of an author relaunch in 2020 as I was home, and had some spare money as all my holidays had been curtailed by the pandemic. My other books are dark comedy crime, and often feature queer characters, but that’s not the primary premise. The last book in published in that genre was in 2023. Once I published my first MM romance book in 2024, I haven’t looked back, and this is right author space for me. I’ve also published a non-fiction book, which supports the training and coaching business I have on the side. Somehow I manage to juggle a day job, my own business and writing. I thank my neurodivergent brain for that.
JSC: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
OT: I would say end-to-end, it’s probably about four months. I usually write a first draft in two months, and then do several rounds of edits, and proofing. Once a first draft is done, I can start something else, whilst editing the previous book. I just don’t have more than one first draft going on at once. My record was when I wrote an 80,000 word first draft in 12 days under my other pen name, but I don’t think I would ever do that again!
JSC: Name the book you like most among all you’ve written, and tell us why.
OT: I’m not sure if “like” is the right word, but the one I am most proud of is Stolen Dream, which is the third book in my Soho Knights series. Paolo and Max meet at the age of eighteen in a conversion therapy camp, fall in love, and then are separated before they find each other again when they are 30. Conversion therapy is still legal in the UK, and we’re now on five Prime Ministers who have vowed to ban it, and still haven’t. Part of me writing this book was to raise awareness, having spoken to survivors. I made the decision to not shy away from showing what goes on in those places, unsure how readers would respond, but it’s been positive. I hope the law changes soon.
JSC: How did you choose the topic for tGrounding the Baker?
OT: My mother died when she was young (48), and as the oldest sibling I took the lead on the practical side. I parked my grief and it crept up on me later. I’d had two dates with the man who become my husband when she died, and we got through it. Although not a direct comparison of my own story, I would say it definitely inspired it. Grief affects people in different ways, and that’s what I wanted to explore in this story, without it being too angsty. It’s still got all that smalltown charm I love to read myself.
JSC: What’s your writing process?
OT: Being ADHD and Autistic is a blessing when it comes to writing. The ADHD part of my brain means I write very fast, so can easily write 10k or more words in a weekend. The Autistic side of my brain means I have to finish things, so I am not jumping between projects and can focus on getting the first draft done. I can juggle different writing projects at once, but not at the same stage. If I am drafting one book, I will editing another, the promoting/publishing a third. If an idea for a future book comes to me, which it does all the time, I write it in my notes app, and will keep adding to it until my brain moves onto something else. Eventually, I will get to all those plot bunnies, but for now I try to stick to a plan. I am deadline driven, so putting up pre-orders helps focus me. As if today, four of the books I have on pre-order, I haven’t even started writing yet, and that doesn’t make me panic… well not yet, anyway!
JSC: What are some day jobs that you have held? If any of them impacted your writing, share an example.
OT: I have worked in HR for over 20 years. I specialise in learning and development, and am also an executive coach. I am surrounded by potential characters all day as I see people at their best and worst. It’s why I have many of my characters in corporate jobs as it’s a world I know very well. My first job when I left school was on a farm, packing tomatoes. I’ve also worked as a barman, stacked shelves in a supermarket, and have done factory work. I left home at 16, but didn’t go to university until I was 22, so have always worked since then. My office jobs came after I graduated at 25.
JSC: What’s your drink of choice?
OT: I’m British, so a cup of tea of course. If you mean a drink-drink, then vodka and coke, or a long island iced tea if I’m making a night of it!
JSC: What food(s) fuel your writing?
OT: Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!
JSC: Do you believe in love at first sight?
OT: Yes. When I met my husband the first time, I knew he was the one and we were married within a year. That was fifteen yeas ago, and he hasn’t killed me yet, so that’s progress!
JSC: What are you working on now, and what’s coming out next? Tell us about it!
OT: I have just sent my July release, Tattooed Envy, to my editor. It is book four in my Sinful Knights series, and is probably the darkest thing I have written in the MM space so far. It features a 17 year age gap between a tattooist, and the owner of a sex club. They are connected from their past, which makes their relationship forbidden. I won’t say anymore than that right now. If you’ve read my Soho Knights series, you will see a significant appearance from a character who played a big part in that series, but he wasn’t an MC. The next book I’ll be starting is book five in the Sinful Knights series, Unrequited Sloth, which will be my first bisexual awakening book. I am looking forward to getting started on that one. That will be released in the autumn, and I’m feeling like it will be a fun romp, but who knows how it will go when the characters start doing their own thing.
And now for Oliver’s new book: Grounding the Baker:
After losing his mum, Liam returns to Heartwood: a charming English village with an inclusive community and gossip that travels faster than the speed of sound. Taking over Sylvie’s Slice was always the plan, just not this soon. Between keeping the ovens going, supporting a father who’s lost his soulmate, and juggling a demanding day job, Liam barely has time to breathe, let alone date.
Austin isn’t looking for romance either. Turning forty, widowed, and determined to give his daughter the same close knit community he had for his childhood, he moves back to Heartwood to be surrounded by his lifelong friends and a legion of surrogate uncles. Love isn’t on the agenda… until he meets Liam Wells. And it’s not just Liam’s chocolate orange muffins he’s interested in.
Austin recognises the grief behind Liam’s smile and realises now isn’t their moment. But he’s only felt this instant connection once before, and he can’t ignore it. Something brought them both back to Heartwood at the same time, and Austin is prepared to wait.
Liam assumes Austin is straight. When he learns the truth, he’s torn between disbelief that his perfect guy is offering to woo him and the reality that he’s already an award winning juggler of life’s chaos. How is he supposed to add dating into the mix?When the wooing begins, things heat up quickly, but beneath the sweetness, Liam’s unresolved grief is simmering. When it finally boils over, will it draw them closer… or prove that this still isn’t their time?
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Excerpt
Rather than overthinking it, Austin picked up his stuff and headed towards them. As he got closer, he saw Rodrigo had his hand on Liam’s bicep, and it looked like he was caressing it. Austin flared with something, although he wasn’t sure what it was. You didn’t mess around with your clients. That was definitely the reason, and it had nothing to do with him wanting to be the one touching Liam’s bicep. He wanted to spend hours exploring his body, and finding all the spots that brought him pleasure, before slowly taking him apart.
“Liam, how are you?”
He startled and then looked at Austin. He went bright red, which was cute and concerning at the same time. Rodrigo’s hand was still on Liam’s bicep, so Austin glared. He removed it with a smirk and a shake of his head. The guy was naturally flirty with everyone, but Austin had made his feelings clear with one look.
Austin turned his attention back to Liam, who was staring at him. Well, it looked like he was focussed on his arm. Did Liam have a problem with tattoos? Austin had a full arm sleeve, although that’s all he had on his body.
“You want to see?” he asked, moving his arm closer to Liam.
His eyes flashed with heat as he looked at the artwork. For a second it looked like Liam might want to touch it, but he stuffed his hands in his pockets. That was interesting. Austin would have to rethink his winter wardrobe. If Liam had an ink kink, then Austin was more than happy to indulge him by having it on display more often.
Liam kept staring at Austin’s tattoos and was still bright red. He glanced at Rodrigo, who looked amused by the whole interaction.
“Can we talk, Liam?” asked Austin.
“Oh . . . I . . . I need to get home. My dad’s waiting for me.”
“I’ll only keep you for two minutes.”
“Okay then.” His shoulders slumped, like he was bracing himself for something bad.
“I’ll leave you to it,” said Rodrigo. “See you on Wednesday night, Liam,” he added with a wink.
Austin got that flare in his stomach again, but he’d deal with that later. Now he had Liam in front of him, he wasn’t sure what to say. This wasn’t him. He was always confident, but this guy had him tied up in knots.
“I missed seeing you this week.” Real subtle that was, Austin!
Liam blushed and looked at the floor. “Sorry, I’ve been busy.”
No, this wouldn’t do at all. Austin used his thumb and finger to lift Liam’s chin so he could see into his eyes.
“I know you heard something about me, and I’d like to know if that’s the reason you’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just been busy.”
Austin was done dancing around. He hated seeing the self-doubt in Liam’s eyes. He needed to make his intentions clear, even if it blew up in his face.
“Do you know how much restraint it’s taking for me not to kiss you right now?”
Liam’s eyes widened, and his breath hitched.
“I know the timing’s shit, but I want you to know something, Liam. I’m not looking for one night with you. In fact, I want to woo you for a while before I take you to bed and give you the best night of your life. You can tell me to fuck off, but I think you want this too. I know you’ve got a lot going on right now, so how about we leave the ball in your court. This is just me making my intentions very clear, Liam. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I’d love to take you out for dinner. Can you give me your phone, please?”
Liam looked like he was shell-shocked, so Austin pulled his own phone out of his pocket and held it up. That seemed to jerk him out of whatever was going on in his head. Liam pulled his phone out, unlocked it, and passed it to Austin. He punched his number in and saved it before texting himself. There was no way he was walking away from here without Liam’s phone number. Austin passed the phone back to him.
“I look forward to your call,” said Austin, before leaning forward and kissing Liam on the cheek.
Austin heard him gasp, and when he looked into his eyes, they were watering. It made Austin want to pull Liam into his arms, but he’d put all his cards out there now. Liam had to make the next move.
He smiled at the beautiful man, getting one back. Then he did something he didn’t think would be so difficult – he walked away, out of the gym, without looking back. All he had to do now was hope Liam would call.